Sept 13, 2003

Final Stats

By DOUG TUCKER
AP Sports Writer

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Darren Sproles ran for 152 yards and three touchdowns and backup quarterback Jeff Schwinn passed for 228 yards as No. 7 Kansas State beat Massachusetts 38-7 Saturday.

Sproles had 115 yards at halftime and sparked a 21-0 burst in the second quarter after the Minutemen of Division I-AA surprised the Wildcats (4-0) by taking a 7-3 lead.

Schwinn, a former walk-on stepping in for the injured Ell Roberson, was intercepted twice, including on his first possession. But the little-used senior eventually found his range and went 17-of-26 with one touchdown pass against a Massachusetts defense that was clearly at a speed disadvantage.

Roberson, one of the nation's top run/pass threats, went out indefinitely last week with an injured left hand.

Schwinn, in his first start in almost five years since he quarterbacked tiny McLouth, Kan., High School, threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brian Casey in the second quarter to give the Wildcats a 10-7 lead.

His 31-yard completion to James Terry set up Sproles with a 1-yard TD run in the third that put the Wildcats on top 31-7 and sent them on their way to their 41st straight nonconference home win. It was the 10th victory overall for Kansas State, the fourth-longest in the nation.

The Minutemen (1-1) stunned Kansas State when Jeff Krohn connected with Jason Peebler on a 65-yard touchdown play on the game's first series. Peebler got behind Louis Lavender, who replaced departed All-America cornerback Terence Newman, and went the final 30 yards untouched.

Terry had eight catches for 120 yards for the Wildcats, who have won 10 in a row over I-AA opponents.

Sproles, who had a career-high 175 yards the week before against I-AA McNeese State, broke loose on a 42-yard run in the second quarter and a moment later scored on a 2-yard plunge.

On the Wildcats' second touchdown drive, he had runs of 7, 13 and 16 yards on consecutive carries. The 5-foot-7 junior also had an 8-yard TD run.

The Minutemen were effectively shut down the final three quarters and wound up with a net 27 yards rushing compared with Kansas State's 235.

Late in the fourth quarter, the crowd roared when redshirt freshman Dylan Meier replaced Schwinn and hit Terry for a 27-yard gain on his first pass. Meier capped a 57-yard drive with an 8-yard TD run.

The crowd of 46,000, expecting another easy victory against an overmatched I-AA team, fell silent when Steve Costello intercepted Schwinn's pass in the opening period.

Joe Rheem's 38-yard field goal was the only score the sputtering Wildcats could muster in the first quarter - on a drive that was aided by a 15-yard pass interference penalty against the Minutemen.